Cessna 172N Skyhawk weight and balance
The 160 hp Skyhawk of 1977 to 1980, certificated to 2,300 lb - 250 lb less than the 172S, on the same datum, seat and baggage arms. With four adults aboard, the weight limit - not the CG - is what limits the fuel: on the handbook's sample airframe about two thirds of the standard tanks fit. It is approved for spins only in the utility category, at 2,000 lb with the rear seat and baggage empty.
Flying under EASA rules? This is the C172N's mass and balance: the same moments and the same centre-of-gravity limits.
Check this is your variant before you use a number
Modelled on the 1978 Model 172N handbook (Cessna D1109-1-13, Change 1) with the standard 40-gallon tanks. The 1977, 1979 and 1980 172Ns each have their own handbook (TCDS 3A12 Note 4); the 1978 book covers serials 17261578 and 17269310 to 17271034, except 17270050. The 1979 and 1980 books add a 2,307 lb ramp weight and a 7 lb start and taxi allowance, which this profile does not use - for the weight limits the 1978 reading is the stricter one. Long-range tanks (50 usable gallons) and the optional child's seat are not modelled. A 172N converted under an STC - a bigger engine or a higher gross weight - has different limits: its flight manual supplement governs. The 172M and 172P are different aeroplanes for weight and balance.
C172N weight and balance calculator
Non-aerobatic operations: maneuvers incidental to normal flying, stalls except whip stalls, lazy eights, chandelles, and turns up to 60 degrees of bank. Spins are not approved.
Loaded result
Within limitsCessna 172N Skyhawk · Normal category · data checked 2026-10-12
The printed sheet carries the aircraft, the date, every station, all three points of the flight and the full safety notice - free, no sign-up, and it prints offline.
CG envelope
Takeoff and landing plotted against the Cessna 172N Skyhawk normal-category envelope.
- Normal envelope
- Takeoff
- Landing
- Fuel burning off
Each point is labelled IN or OUT, and both must sit inside the envelope.
The bar through the takeoff point is how far the CG slides as the adjustable seats run through their published travel: 44.43 to 46.20 in. Both ends stay inside the envelope.
Datum: the lower portion of the front face of the firewall. All arms are inches aft of that (1978 POH Section 2, p. 2-7, and Figure 6-1). Full limits and sources
Loading
Weights in pounds; fuel in US gallons. Arms are fixed by the airframe.
The 1978 POH's sample airplane (Figure 6-5 line 1: 1,454 lb, moment 57.6 thousand lb-in, so 39.6 in). It is not your aircraft: replace both numbers from your aircraft's weight and balance record.
POH Figure 6-3: occupant CG 37 in with the seats set for an average occupant, range 34 to 46 in over the seat travel (34 to 41 in with the optional child's seat installed).
Your rule sets it: under 14 CFR 91.151 (VFR), at least 30 minutes at normal cruising speed by day and 45 at night; the EASA and UK minutes are on the fuel reserves page.
Loadouts
Saved on this device only - a loadout is never sent to us.
Breakdown
Weight x arm = moment, per station.
Certificated limits
Datum: the lower portion of the front face of the firewall. All arms are inches aft of that (1978 POH Section 2, p. 2-7, and Figure 6-1).
Normal category
Non-aerobatic operations: maneuvers incidental to normal flying, stalls except whip stalls, lazy eights, chandelles, and turns up to 60 degrees of bank. Spins are not approved.
| Maximum ramp weight | 2,300 lb |
|---|---|
| Maximum takeoff weight | 2,300 lb |
| Maximum landing weight | 2,300 lb |
| Weight (lb) | Forward limit (in) | Aft limit (in) |
|---|---|---|
| 1,950 | 35.00 | 47.30 |
| 2,300 (max) | 38.50 | 47.30 |
Source: 1978 Model 172N POH Section 2, pp. 2-6 and 2-7; TCDS 3A12 p. 12.
Utility category
The maneuvers required for the commercial and instructor certificates - chandelles, lazy eights, steep turns, stalls and SPINS. Spins are approved in this category only, and never with flaps extended.
| Maximum ramp weight | 2,000 lb |
|---|---|
| Maximum takeoff weight | 2,000 lb |
| Maximum landing weight | 2,000 lb |
| Weight (lb) | Forward limit (in) | Aft limit (in) |
|---|---|---|
| 1,950 | 35.00 | 40.50 |
| 2,000 (max) | 35.50 | 40.50 |
Loading restriction. The rear seat must not be occupied and the baggage compartment must be empty. The calculator treats a load in any of those places as a violation in this category, not a caution.
Source: 1978 Model 172N POH Section 2, pp. 2-7 and 2-8; Section 4, p. 4-17; TCDS 3A12 pp. 12 and 20.
Station arms
| Station | Arm (in) | Range (in) | Max (lb) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front seats (pilot + passenger) | 37.0 | 34.0 to 46.0 | - |
| Rear seats | 73.0 | - | - |
| Fuel (usable) | 48.0 | - | 240 |
| Baggage area 1 | 95.0 | - | 120 |
| Baggage area 2 | 123.0 | - | 50 |
Baggage areas 1 + 2 combined: 120 lb.
Fuel: 40.0 US gallons usable at 6.00 lb per gallon = 240 lb. Only usable fuel is charged to the fuel station - the unusable remainder is already inside the certificated empty weight.
POH Figure 6-3: occupant CG 37 in with the seats set for an average occupant, range 34 to 46 in over the seat travel (34 to 41 in with the optional child's seat installed). The calculator evaluates the envelope at both ends of that travel and says so when the verdict changes, because a load can be inside the envelope with the seats set for an average occupant and outside it with the seats run full aft.
Worked example
The 1978 handbook's own sample loading problem: 340 lb up front, 170 lb behind, all 40 usable gallons and a 96 lb bag in area 1 - exactly 2,300 lb. The 15 gal trip burn is added here to plot a landing point; the handbook's problem stops at takeoff.
Empty weight 1,454 lb at 39.60 in. The 1978 POH's sample airplane (Figure 6-5 line 1: 1,454 lb, moment 57.6 thousand lb-in, so 39.6 in). It is not your aircraft: replace both numbers from your aircraft's weight and balance record.
| Item | Weight (lb) | Arm (in) | Moment (in-lb) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weight (from your W&B record) | 1,454 | 39.6 | 57,578 |
| Front seats (pilot + passenger) | 340 | 37.0 | 12,580 |
| Rear seats | 170 | 73.0 | 12,410 |
| Fuel (usable) | 240 | 48.0 | 11,520 |
| Baggage area 1 | 96 | 95.0 | 9,120 |
| Baggage area 2 | 0 | 123.0 | 0 |
| Ramp | 2,300 | 44.87 | 103,208 |
| Takeoff | 2,300 | 44.87 | 103,208 |
| Less trip fuel (15 gal) | -90 | 48.0 | -4,320 |
| Landing | 2,210 | 44.75 | 98,888 |
At 2,300 lb the Normal-category limits are 38.50 to 47.30 in, so a takeoff CG of 44.87 in is inside the envelope. Burning the 15 gal of trip fuel at the 48.0 in fuel arm moves the CG forward to 44.75 in at 2,210 lb, against limits of 37.60 to 47.30 in there. Both ends of the flight are inside the envelope, which is the check that matters.
What catches people out on the C172N
- Four adults do not fit with full tanks. On the handbook's sample airframe (1,454 lb at 39.6 in), four 170 lb adults and the full 40 standard gallons weigh 2,374 lb - 74 lb over the 2,300 lb maximum. With four aboard and no baggage about 27 of the 40 gallons fit, at a CG of about 44.8 in, well inside the 47.3 in aft limit.
- Baggage is where the aft limit bites. On the same airframe, four 170 lb adults with 70 lb in baggage area 1 and 50 lb in area 2 put the CG at about 47.8 in - past the 47.3 in aft limit with any amount of fuel, and only about 7.7 gallons fit by weight anyway. With all 120 lb in area 1 instead the CG is about 47.2 in at 2,300 lb - just inside, until the front seats go full aft.
- Spins are approved ONLY in the utility category - 2,000 lb, aft limit 40.5 in, rear seat and baggage empty: "Spins with baggage loadings or occupied rear seat(s) are not approved" (POH p. 4-17). A normal-category "within limits" result says nothing about whether the spin is legal.
- The front seats move. The POH gives the occupant CG range as 34 to 46 in, against 37 in for an average occupant - and only 34 to 41 in with the optional child's seat installed (not modelled: a child there sits at 96 in and counts against baggage area 1's 120 lb). Running both seats full aft moves 340 lb of occupants 9 in aft, about 1.3 in of CG at 2,300 lb. The tool checks both ends of the standard seat travel and warns when a load that passes at the average position would fail.
- The 1978 handbook's weight and balance has no ramp weight and no start or taxi line, so the aeroplane is loaded to 2,300 lb on the ramp, not 2,307 as the 1979 and 1980 books allow. Its only start and taxi figure, 1.1 gal in the climb chart (Figure 5-6), is for fuel planning - the fuel card and fix-my-load keep it back.
- Only the 40 usable gallons are charged to the fuel station. The 3 unusable gallons of the standard tanks are already inside the basic empty weight.
Where every figure on this page comes from
- Cessna Pilot’s Operating Handbook, Skyhawk 1978 Model 172N (D1109-1-13, Change 1), Section 2 (Limitations)Normal and utility weight limits, both CG envelopes, the baggage placards, the maneuver limits, the datum and the fuel quantities.
- Cessna 1978 Model 172N POH, Sections 4, 5 and 6Station arms and the front-seat occupant CG range (Figure 6-3), the sample loading problem (Figure 6-5), the demonstrated crosswind (p. 4-3) and the takeoff tailwind correction (Figure 5-4 note 3).
- FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet 3A12, Revision 84, 29 July 2015, Model 172NMaximum weights, CG range, seat and baggage-area-1 stations, the +48 in fuel arm the 1978 POH does not print, unusable fuel (Note 1), the utility-category placard and the handbook for each serial range (Note 4).
- FAA-H-8083-1B, Aircraft Weight & Balance HandbookThe moment/arm method and the datum convention.
First published - the date of this profile's figures, unrevised since, printed on every result and on the planning sheet. Each revision is explained in the corrections log.
FAA Type Certificate Data Sheets are United States government works and are in the public domain. Handbook figures are quoted for identification and reference; KeepBlueUp is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by any manufacturer or aviation authority. Where a figure could not be quoted from a public document it is not on this page at all.